OTW Safety

Event Barricades

Our decades of expertise in the safety industry give us deep insight into what truly makes a safety barricade the best fit for any event. We have experience securing all types of indoor and outdoor venues, including 

  • Farmer’s Markets
  • Marathons 
  • Street fairs
  • Art walks
  • Beer gardens
  • Festivals
  • Concerts
  • Go-kart Tracks
  • Racing Tracks
  • and more!
Black Event Barricades set up at entrance of life-size monopoly event

More Space for Sponsors with OTW Event Barricades

Sponsorships are an important source of income for many of the events we serve. Consider an additional incentive that will get your sponsor’s brand in front of the most people possible – custom barricade signs for your crowd control barricades.

The billboard barricade was designed for advertising! We print big (36″ x 28.5″) colorful signs that attach cleanly to our barricades and stand up to sun or rain. Guests love being in a colorful, intentional space and sponsors love the visibility of their logos and messages.

Let’s Talk Event Fencing

When planning begins for an event, one of the first things to do is decide if the perimeter will be enclosed and if so, how? There are many options depending on the size of the event and how secure it needs to be. There are also a lot of different terms to describe the temporary fencing that goes up around events. Steel barricades are common and can be referred to as “steel,” “fence,” “bike rack,” or “bike rack barricades” – no matter which term is used the same problems come up.

Pedestrian barricades made of steel tend to bend and rust over time, making them even more cumbersome for event staff to deal with. They take a long time to set up, especially if the feet need to be bolted in place. Plus the feet can be unstable and if barricades are pushed over the crashing noise can cause chaos in a crowd. The Billboard Barricade is an alternative to steel that meets the needs of event producers and adds another component of value with the built-in display panel.

Event Barricades in Yellow at the Adventure & Gear Festival

Plastic versus Steel: An OTW Plastic Barricade Q&A

Our Director of Events, Patrick, has worked on events large and small, most notably serving as the Assistant Director/Technical Director for the Utah Arts Fest. When ArtsQuest in Pennsylvania was considering switching from their steel barricades, Patrick answered some frequently asked questions about our favorite crowd control barrier, the Billboard Barricade. Here’s how the conversation went:

Q: Care and maintenance aside, how does the Billboard Barricade hold up compared to a steel barricade? Have you experienced any bending or cracking of the plastic?

A: The Billboard Barricade is manufactured using high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. HDPE has high impact strength and a high melt temperature, resulting in strong barricades that are exceptionally resistant to stress cracks. They have no parts that can bend, crack, or rust (unlike steel barricades, which will likely bend and rust with time).

Q: Do you ever have any problems with the folding feet breaking or folding in while in place?

A: The feet work incredibly well, and we haven’t found any issues during our rigorous testing! When new billboard barricades are distributed, the feet do tend to be tight and take some effort to move down and turn into place. Over time, they loosen up, but we have not seen any break or become unusable.

Q: How does the mobility factor help during the setup & breakdown phases?

A: They are lightweight enough (when empty) to be carried by one person, and each barricade is stackable, nests flat, and is easy to store in any warehouse or storage room. If dragging is necessary, they won’t cause damage to gym floors, fields, etc, like steel might. This makes setup and teardown simple and easy!

Q: How well does the Billboard Barricade hold up in high winds?

A: They hold up well, especially when ballasted! You can use water to ballast your Billboard Barricades, or you can weigh them down with sandbags. The interior receptor can be used to tighten a wall of barricades, making them less prone to falling over. You can also drive a stake through the interior receptor to create an immovable wall in high-wind environments like ski-resort grounds.

Q: Do you ballast in areas where patrons are likely to lean on the fence?

A: We don’t often see the need to ballast for leaning or crowd surging. Once the barricades are connected, they are very sturdy as a unit. For ease of mind, ballasting with water or weighing down with sandbags will do the trick.

Q: Has the Billboard Barricade helped to decrease injuries in the workplace (i.e. cuts, scrapes, pinching of fingers, etc)?

A: We have received excellent reports from our customers concerning the overall safety of their workplaces when using our barricades, so we can safely say that injury has been reduced. In the past, customers reported that they rented steel barricades before trying plastic… and we know that pokes in the hands and fingers from nails, screws, and sharp edges on unwieldy steel barricades are not uncommon. The Billboard Barricades are much lighter weight (two average people can carry 3 properly stacked sections at a time), have no sharp edges, and are bright and easily visible to all.

Our Crowd-Pleasing Event Barricades

OTW Safety not only provides high-quality event barricades, but we can help with your event planning and safety too! Our events team has years of experience with events as large as the Utah Arts Festival, which draws over 80,000 visitors in only four days. OTW’s event planning services include site mapping, venue design, sponsorship consulting, event signage, logistics, set up, and management. Event safety services include insurance consulting, operations management, and on-site security.

orange plastic pedestrian barricade

42" Plastic Pedestrian Barricade

The billboard barricade is our most popular solution for almost any type of event! These event barriers are colorful, incredibly sturdy, and interlock for increased stability. They are the perfect addition to your event for directing crowds, indicating various areas, and safeguarding anything that needs protection. They also feature display panels that support 36” x 29.5” custom printed signs. These are often used to advertise future events or recognize sponsors.

Crowd control barricades in Silver with custom signage at an outdoor event in Santa Clarita

Show off those sponsors

The billboard barricade was designed for advertising! We print big (36″ x 28.5″), beautiful signs that attach cleanly to our barricades and stand up to sun or rain. Guests love being in a colorful, intentional space and sponsors love the visibility of their logos and messages. As sponsorships are an important source of income for many of the events we serve, consider an additional incentive that will get your sponsor’s brand in front of the most people possible custom printed signs for your crowd control barricades!

Plastic water filled jersey barricade

42" Jersey Shape LCD Barricade

For an even sturdier line of event barricades, our Jersey Shape LCD barricades can be used for events that require more substantial delineation. Each empty barricade weighs in at 80 pounds but, ballasted with water, they can weigh up to 1,330 pounds for a super secure fortification. For added privacy or security, fence panels can be also be attached to the event barricades.

Use OTW For Your Next Event!

With our most innovative product at the core of our site safety services, we’re confident we can help you improve the overall success of your event. Our team is here to help! Call us for more information at (801) 285-6461.

Easy Set-Up

One of the most unique features of our crowd barrier is the swiveling foot, which enables multiple barricades to be stacked flat for shipment or storage. Set-up is easy and without sharp edges or rusted sections to deal with, it goes faster too!